The long and winding road to crazy

A thoughtful diary on the hazards of being a Republican, which I hope the few sane Republicans in North Carolina will take to heart.

I've always called myself socially liberal and fiscally conservative. (Secret: I'm a registered Republican, but voted for Obama.) I will no longer vote for any Republican for any position at any time. I've become a straight ticket Democrat. Republicans have gone 20 steps too far toward crazy. And my husband is in the same position. A position we just call ... sanity.

We are what most would consider financially comfortable. Some might consider rich. We don't feel rich. We live within (below) our means. We pay A LOT more than 13.9% in taxes. And we're generally okay with that because we don't build roads or bridges on our own. We think the government should do that. And we expect to pay for it. Honestly, we feel a little like we pay more than our fair share ... But, we still get to live okay, so, rules are rules.

We generally in principle supported Occupy but didn't speak up.

We generally in principle support "Obamacare" but didn't speak up.

We generally in principle are concerned about eroding free speech and an increasing police state but didn't speak up.

But now, we think we have to start speaking up for women. Is it too late?